The pictures are worse than a thousand words

 

 

The only death we experience is other people's

 

Moving from place to place for twenty years, I never stayed long enough to experience other people's death; however, the quarter-century spent in little Nelligen since then made up for it; firstly, because for the first time in my life I've been settled enough to become involved in community life and, secondly, because the people I befriended were mainly in my age group and older.

Betty Heycox, whose standing-room-only church service and funeral we attended today, wasn't just part of Nelligen's community life, she was Nelligen's community life. She was also a very good friend whose passing leaves a big hole in our hearts.

Vale Betty!

Escape from the city to Nelligen

Having downsized to a small Sydney unit, retirees Noni and Stewart are feeling restless. They're keen to find a coastal home which caters to their passions and has ample space for the family to come and visit.

They checked out our beautiful South Coast, and where did they end up buying? In Nelligen, of course! - or more specifically, at 16 Currowan Street in Nelligen.

Hamptons-inspired? Last time I looked, Nelligen was a long way from the upmarket seaside area on New York's Long Island

And what's the best thing about the property? Well, it's just a few hundred metres, as the pelican flies, across the river from "Riverbend":

(Just kidding; the property also has ample under-the-house storage space for Stewart's stuff :-)

To watch the whole episode on ABV TV's iview, click here, then from the next page click on this image of Noni and Stewart.

Noni and Stewart with presenter Del Irani

(If you don't want to waste your time at Malua Bay or Congo but escape straight to Nelligen, fastforward to around 32:40).

A three-hour escape

The Boatshed is almost an institution in the Bay - a culinary rather than a mental one - and we went there for a meal of oh-so-freshly-caught grenadier with salad and chips, and also to check out the "Escapade" which our Sydney friends Tong and Suzanne will board next weekend for a three-hour cruise on the Clyde River.

I've offered Tong my Seniors Card for the $45 concession fare which should be okay as long as he answers to the name of "Manfred" in a German accent, and doesn't mention the war.

Anyway, we will hoist the flag and await their passing at "Riverbend" at a quarter to one as we sit on the verandah and raise our glasses filled with "Chateau Cardboard" in a royal toast.

PNG's Independence Day 16 September

 

It was in the dying days of 1974 when I received an urgent telegram from TOTAL - Compagnie Française des Pétroles to fly to what was then called Burma to take up a new position as chief accountant in their exploration office in Rangoon.

I was at the time working in the Territory of Papua & New Guinea, putting the finishing touches on Air Niugini's internal audit department, as the country was hurdling towards independence the following year. When the then Chief Minister Michael Somare - soon to be Sir Michael and Prime Minister of the independent country of Papua New Guinea - heard of my impending departure, he expressed his regrets that I wouldn't be there for this momentous occasion. "However," he said, "the least we can do is make our Independence Day the same as your birthday."

And so it came to pass that my birthday and Papua New Guinea's Independence Day are celebrated on the same day each year.

P.S. Of course, if you believe this, you'll probably spend the rest of your life doing a convincing impression of a cabbage! ☺

 

Of course, I couldn't resist photographing them

 

I discovered these prints pinned to the wall of a home in the Bay. Could I resist photographing them? Of course, I couldn't! All I have to do now is track down where they came from and if there are any more of them.

 

Nelligen and the Clyde on YouTube

A random collection of YouTube video clips of Nelligen and the Clyde River
(although not by me as I own neither a video camera nor a drone)

Drone Flight Over Nelligen

Etta cruising the Clyde River at Nelligen

Nelligen video postcard

Litchi Waypoint flight over Nelligen

Nelligen Clyde River - Early morning drone flight over houseboats

Clyde River at Nelligen

Big4 Nelligen Holiday Park

Wotz @ Nelligen

Up and down the Clyde River ...

... which is famous for its oysters:

And then there are always the upper reaches of the Clyde River. 'Pristine' is the word you're looking for:

Don't forget to take a cruise on the Clyde all the way up past "Riverbend" to Nelligen:

And just 8km or an easy ten-minute drive down the Kings Highway is Batemans Bay ...

At Innes Boatshed in the Bay:

... and the rest of the unspoilt South Coast:

 

And, as a finale, here's the full-length movie "Oyster Farmer", filmed on the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney rather than the Clyde, which is a pity as the Clyde is so much cleaner and more scenic than the Hawkesbury. Anyway, enjoy the story!

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